Various sports played on courts, such as basketball and volleyball, are well-known and played by millions of people worldwide everyday. Advantageously, such court-based sports may typically be played indoors or outdoors and require much less playing area than other field-based sports, such as football, soccer or baseball.
In order to play a given court-based sport, however, it is necessary that the boundaries of such court be clearly identified. Otherwise, the players playing such sport will have no clear demarcation as to what is and what is not "out of bounds". Indeed, disputes among players can and do frequently arise over whether a player or ball is "in" or "out", which can thus cause great hostility and unsportsmanlike behavior and, consequently, ruin the fun and excitement of the game.
This need for clearly identified court boundaries is especially necessary in basketball where not only is there a need to identify the peripheral boundaries of the court, but also to identify other key locations on the court, such as the free throw line, three-point line and center line, which can affect the score of the game, as well as which team is given possession of the ball. Additionally, such clearly identified boundaries and areas are necessary to enable players to properly practice shooting free throws and three-point shots as the distance from where the shot is made to the basketball hoop is the controlling factor for each such respective shot. Indeed, this need is especially compelling in light of the proliferation of portable backboard sets sold during the past few years that lack the boundaries to properly use them.
To properly mark the boundaries of a given court, however, is time consuming and requires considerable effort. In this regard, the given boundaries of a court must first be accurately measured and thereafter clearly indicated on the playing surface. The latter task is especially problematic as each line, circle or other court indicia must be accurately made on the playing surface, as with chalk or paint for example. Painting such boundaries, however, is problematic insofar as it leaves a permanent marking on the playing surface and therefore cannot be easily removed. Likewise, paint has the drawback of having to be meticulously applied (and repeatedly reapplied over time) and must further be allowed to become sufficiently dry before a game can be played thereupon. While chalk on the other hand offers the benefit of providing impermanent markings on the playing surface, as may be desired on driveways or neighborhoods where portable basketball hoops and the like are utilized, it nonetheless has the drawback of being time consuming to apply, as well as fading away rapidly as players step on and across the playing surface.
Accordingly, there is a need for a quick and accurate means of clearly identifying the boundaries of a court that: (1) can easily be put into place upon a playing surface with minimal time and effort; (2) is exceptionally durable and can withstand the movement of players moving on the playing surface; (3) can be easily and readily removed; and (4) is of simple construction and fabricated from relatively inexpensive materials. There is additionally a need for a measuring apparatus that can quickly, easily and accurately provide measurements as to where the various boundaries and other indicia of a given court are properly located. There is further a need for such a measuring apparatus that is of simple construction and may be readily fabricated from inexpensive materials.